Asia stocks muted amid trade caution; Japan dips on BOJ rate hike comments
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks moved in a flat-to-low range on Tuesday as investors remained on edge over more U.S. trade tariffs, while Japanese markets dipped after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled that more interest rate hikes were possible.
Regional markets received scant trading cues from Wall Street, which was closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. But U.S. stock index futures rose sharply in Asian trade, as investors cheered President Donald Trump's delaying of steep trade tariffs on the European Union.
S&P 500 Futures jumped 0.9%.
Focus this week, especially in the technology sector, was also on upcoming earnings from artificial intelligence major NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which are due on Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.3%, while the TOPIX was flat after BOJ Governor Ueda flagged risks from high underlying inflation, and warned that the central bank will raise interest rates further if the Japanese economy improves.
Ueda said that if upcoming economic readings continue to signal strength, the BOJ will further scale back monetary easing. He also said that Japanese inflation was the closest it has been to the BOJ's 2% annual target in 30 years.
Ueda's comments come after data last week showed a bigger-than-expected pickup in Japanese consumer inflation, as private spending was supported by strong springtime wage hikes.
But Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025, amid growing concerns over the impact of U.S. trade tariffs on local businesses, especially automakers.
Broader Asian markets moved in a flat-to-low range on Tuesday, as investors remained on edge over more U.S. trade tariffs. While Trump did postpone his proposed EU tariffs, he did not address his threat to tariff smartphone imports to the U.S., which could bode poorly for several Asian tech majors.
South Korea's KOSPI was among the worst performers in Asia on Tuesday, down 0.5% as chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) retreated. Samsung could also be subject to U.S. import duties on smartphones.
Trump's smartphone tariff threat was aimed primarily at Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which sent shares of the company's Asian suppliers lower this week. Hong Kong and China-listed AAC Technologies (OTC:AACAY) (HK:2018) and Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd (SZ:002475) lost nearly 2% each. Xiaomi Corp (HK:1810) lost 0.7% before its quarterly earnings due later in the day.
The Hang Seng index added 0.2%, while the mainland Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.
Taiwan's TSMC (TW:2330) fell 1%, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317) rose 0.3%.
HK-listed shares of JD.com (HK:9618) fell sharply after rival Meituan's (HK:3690) CEO Wang Xing flagged heightened competition in China's instant retail market.
Singapore's Straits Times index was flat, while Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.1%. BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) rose 1.5% after a report said the miner was in talks to sell some of its Brazilian copper and gold assets to Nexa Group.
Gift Nifty 50 Futures for India's Nifty 50 index fell marginally, pointing to a flat open for the index after it surged back above the 25,000 level on Monday.
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